Stepping mechanism



Feb. 11, 1958 H. sENGEBUscH 2,822,983

s'rEPPING MECHANISM original Filed Nov. s. 1952 2 sheets-sheet 1 ATTY.

Feb. 11, 1958 H. sENGEBusCH 2,822,983

STEPPING MECHANISM v original Filed Nov. 5, 1952 2 sheets-sheet 2 ATTY.

United States Patent() srEPPiNG ivrscHANlsM Haus Sengebusch, Ingleside, Ill., assignor to General Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated, a corporation of Delaware Original application November 5, 1952, Serial No. 318,852. Divided and this application January 19, 1956, Serial No. 560,139

7 Claims. (Cl. 23S-92) This invention relates in general to a digit counter operated by an improved stepping mechanism and more speciically to such counter adapted for use in a space reservation system. This application is a division of the copending application of Hans Sengebusch, Serial No. 318,852, tiled November 5, 1952.

In space reservation systems it is desirable to have a counter set normally to indicate the number of available seats of spaces and to operate the counter in steps to subtract from the indicated number so that the number displayed at any time indicates the remaining seats available at that time.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a digit counter construction which will be simple, inexpensive, compact` and rugged.

A feature of this invention is the apparatus for operating the counters.

Another feature of this invention is its general construction for eliminating the need for great accuracy in the manufacture of certain parts and for thereby reducing the cost of this unit.

Another feature of this invention is the simple method of securing alignment of the armature for properly operating the registering counters.

Still another feature of this invention is the means for fastening or removing the entire unit 'from a carrying plate so that it may be replaced by another unit in the event of faulty operation or other cause.

The invention accordingly consists in the construction, combination of elements and arrangements of parts as will be exemplified in the kstructure that is hereinafter described in the remainder of the application andwhich will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings is shown by way of illustration one of the various embodiments of my invention:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the digit counter with part of the mounting plate removed.

Fig. 2 is a view taken along the section 2-2 showing the position of the visual alarm if there are no available spaces.

Fig. 3 is a frontelevation showingthe number display of the counters at the beginning setting used herein.

Fig. 4 is a view taken along the section 3-3 showing the arrangement for mounting the digit counter on the carrying plate including the sleeve 14 and the strip 13.

Fig. 5 shows the positioning of the cams, cam 'follower arms and the visual and electrical alarms while the digit counter has any number of spaces available from 99 to and including 5. During this period of registration it will be understood that cam 42 will be rotated through all of its various positions without eiecting any other-of the elements. p

Fig. 6 shows the arrangement of the various elements of' Fig. 5 while the numbers 4 to and including 1 are registered. i

Fig. `7 shows the arrangement of the various elements I of Fig. 5 Vwhen the numbers' 00 are displayed by the digit counter.

Fig. 8 shows the pivoted visual alarm plate in its normal position where it prevents the removal of the digit counter from the carrying plate if any of the numbers 99 to and including 5 are displayed.

As was hereinbeforenoted a counted of this type might find its most general application for providing a record of the number of spaces available for reservation. YIn the vertical portion of the carrying plate 1 is a window 91. Through this window there would be visible to a reiservation clerk a colored plate indicating according to the color the maximum number of available spaces or seats in accordance with the particular color visible. Thus in this example, a two digit counter is used for indicating a maximum of 99 spaces or seats. If the black plate is visible at the rear Window the clerk will know that a maximum of 99 spaces or a minimum of 5 spaces are available and she may continue to record reservations. The black plate is permanently fastened toV mounting plate 11 in front of the window in plate 1. When the yellow plate is visible in window 91 a maximum of 4 spaces and a minimum of l space are available. If the red plate is visible no space is available. Simultaneously with the appearance of the yellowfplate in window 91 an electrical alarm is operated and another electrical alarm is operated when the red plateappears.

At the opposite end of the device are a tens wheel 40 and a units wheel 39 indicating the exact number of spaces available'. The units wheel operating the tens wheel one step for each revolution of the units wheel by means of operation of a particular alarm or the alarms might be used to prevent the clerk from operating the counters or for any one of numerous purposes. In this example, electrical alarms are operated at two times, once when four spaces are the maximum number available and `again when zero spaces are available. Each alarm in this example is operated simultaneously with either the yellow or red plate.

The driving mechanism for the counters consists of a modilied star Wheel and pawl arrangement, the pawl being hinged upon the armature which has an elongated portion. The elongated portion of the armature forming a projection normally positioned in the indentation between two adjacent teeth of the star wheel. The pawl itself is normally positioned with its vertical face against the outer circumference of one of the teeth and must first be moved to bring its driving or horizontal face into contact with a recess inthe tooth in order to rotate or step the tooth. This stepping of the tooth rotates the star wheel 18 of which it is a part to in turn rotate units wheel 39. .This mechanism is arranged to secure better operation than would be ordinarily possible due to the heavy loadimposed by operation of the contact springs. This construction further eliminates the need for great accuracy in the manufacture of the pawl and armature length and at the same time secures perfect alignment of the counter for registration as the armature may be positioned by simply adjusting the position of the electromagnet.

The feature whereby the unit may be locked to the carrying plate is a very novel arrangement in which removal is prevented unless the counters have displayed a predetermined number at which time the visual signal plates are operated. It will be noted that the sleeve 14 Paientedreb. 11, s

3 at the bottom of the mounting plate 11 will not disengage the strip 13 on the horizontal portion of the carrying plate 1 until the spring 12 and the visual signal plate are both raised. The signal plate will .not be raised until the cam on the tens and units wheel have operated the rider arms to operate the colored plates.

The invention and the above noted .and other features thereof will be understood more clearly and fully from the following description.

As was noted before, this device may display a maximum of 99 spaces available and therefore each of the counter wheels 39 and 4t) respectively register 9 as diS- played in Fig. 3. When any number of spaces more than 4 are available a black painted plateshows at the window 91 in carrying plate 1 while-the bottom surface of red plate 71 rests on the horizontal surface ofcarrying plate 1 and prevents Vthe removal of the mount 11 from plate 1 at this time as shown in Fig. 8. Y

When a clerk desires to register a certain number of reservations she will pulse the electromagnet 2 in any well known manner attracting armature 16 a rnumber of times in accordance with number of pulses passing through the electromagnet 2. Armature 16 is normally tensioned upward by spring 3i) thereby forcing armature projection 17 to tit snugly between adjacent teeth 18a and 18h of the star wheel 1S which is mounted on the same shaft as digit wheel 39 and rotates with wheel 39. Wheel 40 will rotate a distance corresponding to one number on its face whenever wheel 39 makes a complete revolution which is the equivalent of registering l spaces. Pawl 19 is pivoted on the armature 16 at a point adjacent projection 17. As will be noted by referring to Fig. 1 when pivoted pawl 19 is in its normal position its vertical faces is biased against the outer circumference of tooth 21 by spring 20 fastened on one end to projection 22 on the armature 16 and on the other end to pawl 19.' When the electromagnet 2 is energized projection 17 on the armature is pulled down and away from star wheel 18 as armature 16 is pivoted at 90. Pawl 19 is pulled downward by the armature 16 and forward by spring 20 so that its top horizontal edge or face may engage recess 21a on tooth 21. Armature 1fmoves downward until projection 22 on the armature 15 strikes flat spring 24 and on de-energization of the electromagnet 2 armature 16 then returns to its former position under tension of spring 313 thus enabling pawl 19 to rotate tooth 21. Stop Z is provider. to prevent projection 17 from travelling too far downward. As the armature 16 returns to its normal position pawl 19 now eugaged with recess 21a on tooth Z1 rotates or steps tooth 21 to thus rotate star wheel 1S and units wheel 39. However after the first of a step recess 21a is no longer engaged by pawl 19 and rotation would -cease except that projection 17 of the armature has now contacted the rear surface of tooth 13a. The continued return of the armature to its normal position causes projection 17 to force tooth 1&1 the remaining 1/3.v of a step to thus complete one full step of the VstarY wheel 13 and digit wheel 39 and lock them securely in place. Detent spring 27 prevents rotation of theV star wheel in a direction opposite to the registration of spaces. This operation will continue as many times as the electromagnet is pulsed in accordance with the number of spaces to be reserved.

For every complete revolution of the units wheel .39,

tens wheel 40 wil1 rotate a distance sufficient to display Rotating and B are held against cams 41 and 42 respectively by means of pivoting spring Si) so that if a depression appears in cams 41 and 42 simultaneously follower arms A and B being in the same plane and approximately the same length, will both fall forward under the tension of spring Si? to pivot cam follower 49, lever arms 69 and painted plates 70 and 71. Pivoted at the same time would be rollers 45 and 46 attached to the upper portion of cam follower 49 allowing springs 54 and 5S to operate the alarm contacts. When the clerk has reserved 90 spaces tens wheel 4t) registers 0 and the units wheel 39 the number 9, a depression 48 appears under cam follower arm A in cam 41 and a raised portion 46 on cam 42 under cam follower arm B holds cam follower 49 in the same position as it has occupied during the previous 96 reservations.` As the clerk continues to reserve spaces units wheel 39 continues to rotate until the number 4 is displayed on its face at which time a depression 48a appears under cam follower arm B` as shown in Fig. 6 and at which time cam follower 49 is pivoted forward by spring to raise lever arm 60 and cause the yellow painted plate 70 to cover the black painted plate 69 at the window 91 in carrying plate 1. Simultaneously roller arms 45 and 46 are pulled forward but only spring 54 disassociates from its contact 55 and makes contact5'7 for operating an appropriate alarm circuit in any well known manner while roller arm 46 holds spring 55. If the clerk continues to reserve spaces, the units wheel will continue to rotate and when it displays 0 a deeper depression 48!) will appear in cam 42 under follower arm Band` thus allow cam follower 49 to be pivoted further under the influence of spring 80 to thereby raise lever arms 69 and red painted face 71 to the window in carrying plate and simultaneously move roller arm 46 away from spring 55 so that spring 55 will break contact 58 and make contact 59 as shown in Fig. 7 for operating another alarm circuit in any wellknown manner. At this time the number 00 will be displayed on the counters and if the'clerk again registers a reservation the raised portion of cam 41 will appear under follower arm A and thus restore cam follower 49 to cause roller arms V45 and 46 to be restored to their original position and break contacts 57 and 59 and make contacts 56 and 58 and simultaneously return yellow and red painted plates 70 and 71 to their normal positions.

The unusual locking feature will now be described. The horizontal portion of carrying plate 1 has fastened thereto a metal strip 13 havingan aperture 15 at one end. The lstrip 13 is located parallel to the position occupied by mounting plate 11 on plate 1.V Mounting plate 11 has fastenedto its bottom'a sleeve 14 shaped to conform to the strip 13 as shown in" Fig. 4. Also fastened to mounting plate 11 is a flat spring 12. One end of this spring is located in the sleeve 14, the other end being free so that when the sleeve 14 is slid over strip 13 the end of spring 12 will t into aperture 15 in Fig. l and prevent removal of mounting plate 11 unless .the end of the spring is lifted from the aperture. Mounting plate 11 is further locked into place by plate 71 which in its normal position tits between strip 13 and the vertical portion of carrying plate 1 as shown in Fig. 8 and is rmly held against the horizontal portion of plate 1 by the lever arm 60 and cam `follower 49. Plate 71 will not be raised to allow removal of the mounting plate 11 until the tens wheel 4t) displays 0 and the units wheel 39 displays 4 in the manner previously described.

Although a specific embodiment of my invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that it is but illustrative and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as dened in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a stepping mechanism, an electromagnet, an armature therefor, a ratchet wheel having a series .of teeth formed thereon with a recessed notch provided in the front face of each tooth, a ratchet driving mechanism comprising a pawl pivotally mounted at one end of said armature, said pawl arranged to engage one of said notches of said series of teeth and rotate said wheel a partial step upon release of said electromagnet, a projection formed on the end of said armature adjacent to said pawl, said projection arranged to engage the front face of one of said teeth and complete the rotation of said wheel one step upon further release of said electromagnet.

2. In a stepping mechanism, an electromagnet, an armature therefor, a ratchet wheel having a series of teeth formed thereon, a recessed notch formed on the outer portion of said teeth, a ratchet driving means comprising a lever extending toward said wheel, a pawl pivotally mounted on said lever adjacent to said wheel, a projection having angular contacting surfaces and a base adjacent to said pawl, spring means for returning said lever to a normal position after operation and release of said electromagnet, said base of said projection engaging a stop carried by said frame to limit the movement of said lever away from said wheel, said pawl engaging one of said notches upon release of said electromagnet to rotate said wheel a portion of a step upon return of said lever to normal, one of said angular surfaces of said projection engaging the rear face of a tooth in said series of teeth upon further return of said lever to normal, thereby completing one full step of rotation of said wheel, the other of said angular surfaces of said projection engaging the front face of the adjacent tooth in said series of teeth to prevent further rotation of said wheel.

3. A rotating mechanism comprising a frame, a shaft carried by said frame capable of step-by-step rotation, a wheel carried by said shaft having a series of teeth spaced in equal angular relation thereon for rotating said shaft, a recessed notch at the tip portion of each of said teeth, a bearing pin disposed remote from said wheel, a lever arm pivotally mounted upon said bearing pin and extending toward said wheel, a projection formed at the end of said lever arm extending toward said Wheel, spring means carried by said frame and xed to said lever arm between said projection and said bearing pin for biasing said lever arm toward said Wheel to engage said projection between two adjacent teeth in said series of teeth, a pawl pivotally mounted on said lever arm adjacent to said projection and extending toward said Wheel, a spring disposed between said lever arm and said pivotally mounted pawl for biasing said pawl toward said wheel to cause it to engage said recessed notch at the tip portion of said teeth, means including an electromagnet carried by said drame for moving said lever arm away from said wheel and then releasing said lever arm, movement of said lever arm away from said wheel storing energy in said spring means, disengaging said projection from adjacent teeth in said series of teeth and moving said pawl into engagement with recessed notch at the tip portion of the following tooth in said series of said teeth, said lever arm being returned back toward said wheel by said spring means in response to the release of said lever arm, said pawl engaging the recessed notch in the rear face of a tooth in said series of teeth upon release of said lever arm to drive said wheel a portion of a step, said projection engaging a tooth in said series of teeth upon further release of said lever arm to drive said wheel the remainder of a complete step and to prevent further advance of said wheel, a detent spring carried by said frame cooperating with the rear face of said recessed notch at the tip portion of said teeth to prevent reverse rotation of said wheel.

4. For use with a digit counter having digit wheels mounted on a shaft, a star gear having teeth mounted on said shaft for rotating said Wheels, an electromagnet, an armature having an elongatedportion, said electromagnet moving said armature when energized, said portion normally resting between a pair of adjacent teeth of said star Wheel, a pawl carried by said armature and pivoted adjacent said elongated portion, means for normally biasing said pawl against the outer circumference of one of said teeth, said pawl and elongated portion removed from aforesaid positions by said armature when said electromagnet is energized, said pawl tip engaging the tooth it had been biased against and forcing it forward a predetermined distance when said electromagnet is de-energized, said pawl disengaging said tooth after said predetermined distance, said elongated portion then engaging one of said teeth for forcing it forward another predetermined distance for thus rotating said star gear, shaft and digit wheels a distance corresponding to one complete step.

5. For use with a digit counter having an electromagnet and an armature attracted and released thereby, a serrated element for operating said counter, a pawl carried by said armature, and means for causing said pawl to engage said sernated element when said armature is attracted, said pawl thereby operating said serrated element a predetermined distance when said armature is released, said armature also operating said serrated element a certain distance after lsaid pawl has operated said serrated element a predetermined distance to thereby operate said counter accordingly.

6. For use in a digit counter having an electromagnet and an armature attracted and released by said magnet, a pawl on said armature, a star wheel for operating said counter, and means for causing said pawl to engage said star Wheel when said armature is attracted by said electromagnet, said pawl thereby rotating said star wheel a predetermined distance on release of said armature to operate said counter accordingly and said armature thereafter rotating said star wheel another predetermined distance on its release to thereby operate said counter accordingly, said armature thereafter preventing :further rotation of said star wheel and operation of said counter after it has moved said Istar wheel said other predetermined distance.

7. For use with a digit counter having an electromagnet and an armature attracted and released by said electromagnet, a serrated element for operating said counter, a pawl pivotally mounted on said armature, means for causing said pawl to engage said serrated element when said armature is attracted by said electromagnet, said pawl thereby operating said serrated element a predetermined distance when said armature is released, and a shaped portion arranged on said armature for thereafter engaging said element and for operating said element a certain distance after said pawl has operated said element a predetermined distance to thereby operate said counter.

No references cited. 

